Spurs notebook: Splitter back Saturday? Maybe

HOUSTON — Now 31/2 weeks into recovery from an injury estimated to take three to fiveto heal, Spurs center Tiago Splitter may be back on the court Saturday.

Splitter, who suffered a right shoulder contusion in the second half of a Jan. 4 victory over the Clippers, must first test his shoulder in a 5-on-5 scrimmage. With two days off after Wednesday's home game against the Bulls, he may get the chance before Saturday's home game against the Kings.

“They told me that towards the end of this week or beginning of next week, he might be ready to go,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

Splitter said he has only occasional shoulder pain and is anxious to get back on the court.

“The doctors told me it's healed, so it's just how comfortable I feel,” he said. “They told me I will feel some pain some days but that's normal. I've got to go through those pains to get better.”

The interior anchor of the Spurs' defense, Splitter is averaging 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

'Whatever happens, happens': The NBA All-Star Game reserves will be announced Wednesday, and Spurs big man Tim Duncan is prepared to be left off the team for just the second time in what's surely a Hall of Fame career.

Duncan cites the lowest field-goal percentage and scoring average of his 16-plus seasons as reasons to believe he won't be added to the West roster by the 15 coaches in the conference.

“I can take it or leave it,” Duncan said. “There's a lot of guys playing really well in the league. I don't think I've especially been one of them the first half of the season.

Duncan was an All-Star starter in the first 14 showcases played after joining the Spurs for the 1997-98 season. (There was no All-Star Game in 1999 after a lockout-shortened season of 50 games.)

The only All-Star Game he was not selected for by either the fans or coaches was in 2012, which followed another lockout and a slow start by the big man.

Point guard Tony Parker, who leads the Spurs in scoring and assists, is considered a solid candidate to be selected as a reserve for the Feb 16 game in New Orleans.

Worth noting: Popovich on Tuesday quietly celebrated his 65th birthday. ... The Spurs and Rockets wore special Chinese New Year warm-ups, part of an NBA program celebrating the Year of the Horse with what the league calls “its largest international fan base.”

After practicing sports journalism in Colorado for 35 years Mike Monroe headed to South Texas, where the air is less rarefied and a hard frost is considered a traumatic winter weather event. He joined the sports staff of the Express-News in 2004, reporting and writing exclusively about the NBA and the Spurs. Since 1985 he has primarily covered NBA basketball, but over a 45-year newspaper career has reported on all manner of sporting events, from football, baseball and golf to ski jumping, cycling and motorsports. He has covered NBA and NBA-related games from Honolulu to Rome and from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Mar del Plata, Argentina. Mike is married to Express-News Social Studies columnist Nancy Cook-Monroe.